Genealogical Research Online-Week 16 Pre-Civil War Records

Written By: mic - May• 12•21

American Military Records Before the Civil War

Part I-Pre-Civil War American Wars

Ages of Men Serving in the various Wars https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ages_of_Servicemen_in_Wars

WAR	DURATION	TYPICAL YEARS OF BIRTH	TYPICAL AGES
King William’s War	1689-1697	1629-1681	16-60
Queen Anne’s War	1702-1713	1642-1697	16-60
King George’s War	1744-1748	1684-1732	16-60
French and Indian War	1755-1763	1695-1739	16-60
Revolutionary War	1776-1783	1715-1767	16-60
Indian Wars	1780’s-1890’s	1720’s-1880’s
Barbary Wars	1800-1805	1740-1789	16-60
War of 1812	1812-1815	1752-1799	16-60
Barbary Wars	1815	1755-1799	16-60
Mexican War	1846-1848	1788-1832	16-60

Colonial American Military History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_American_military_history

Rangers

Provincial Troops

Militia

Wars involving the United States:
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Category:Wars_Involving_the_United_States

Map of North America about 1750 at end of King George’s War 1748

Map of North America about 1750 after King Wiliam’s War 1748

French and Indian War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War

Map of North America prior to the French and Indian War 1754

Map of North America Prior to French and Indian War 1763

History of the French and Indian War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War

Map of North America after the French and Indian War 1763

Map of America Colonial North America 1763-1776

Map of State Land Claims at the end of the Revolutionary War 1782-1803

Part II-Types of Military/Veterans Records

Compiled Service Records

A compiled service record is a collection of records about a specific soldier gathered from many sources such as enlistment, discharge, muster, pay, hospital, prison and battle reports. The record may consist of one or many records.

The compiled service record usually consists of a single informational card from every document found and all the cards are placed in a single envelope. At the time of microfilming the outer envelope was microfilmed as was each individual card inside the envelope. Thus the name “compiled” service record.

The compilation of records may contain information of where and when a soldier enlisted or was discharged and by whom. It may list dates of muster, locations where musters were taken, officers, pay, possible aliases, promotions, languages spoken, if taken prisoner, if wounded, if dead.

Pension Records

As a result of the government, state of federal, passing legislation allowing pensions for former soldiers the former soldier might apply for such.

Applications for pensions originated in the county court where the former soldier resided. The application was then forwarded to the Adjutant Generals office in Washington, DC through an agent.

The Adjutant General’s office studied the application to verify the soldier qualified due to his military service, time in service, his health, welfare and financial need as well as the substantiating testimony of his witnesses.

At such time as the law allowed, when a pensioner or eligible former soldier died, his widow might be eligible for a widow’s pension if she qualified. To qualify the widow must prove her husband’s eligible service, prove when and where she was married to him as the law required and she was eligible due to her economic need. She may also have to state her residences and name any dependent children. The last Revolutionary widow died in 1906.

The pension file will contain the application for pension, statements by local officials of the applicant’s veracity and their belief the man was actually an eligible soldier and his economic need. It will also have statements from former comrades in arms who knew of the applicant’s eligible military service

A pension application will have a number. The number will be preceeded by a letter: S, R, W which stands for Soldier/Survivor, Rejected, Widow

Revolutionary Pension Records at Hertiage Quest-(May have to sign in to DPL) https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/search/collections/1995/?name=_townsend&residence=_alabama-usa_3&_phtarg=Uff7%2CUff11%2CUff13

Bounty Land Warrants

Map of Military State and Federal Bounty Lands after Revolutionary War

Created by the Colonial Governments, Continental Congress and later Congresses to reward persons, in the form of land, for serving in the various wars.

Military reserves were set aside, reserved for those with Bounty Land Warrants. Often specific reserves were set aside for soldiers who served from a particular place.

The Federal Government awarded bounty lands as did states.

Generally, land was awarded according to rank:

100 acres for each non-commissioned officer or soldier
150 acres for an ensign
200 acres for a Lt. and proportionate amounts up to 500 acres for ranks to Col.
850 acres for Brigadier General
1100 acres for Major General

March 3, 1855 Congress passed a law authorizing 160 acres to any soldier regardless of rank. It allowed any soldier or widow or orphans of a soldier to get up to 160 acres.

1856 Congress passed a law allowing extended benefits to naval and marine officers, enlisted men, their widows and minor children.

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Revolutionary_War_Pension_Records_and_Bounty_Land_Warrants#1835_Pension_Roll

Unit Histories

Many unit histories have been compiled and published by officers or men who served in a given unit as well as historians. The histories may be found in libraries, archives and on the Internet.

Information on military units may be obtained though official records generated by the unit.

Google- Culpeper Minute Men 1775 https://sites.google.com/site/culpeperminutemensite/history#:~:text=The%20Committee%20of%20Safety%20commissioned,the%20Major%20of%20this%20Battalion.

Google-Culpeper Minute Men 1775 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culpeper_Minutemen

Part III-Colonial Wars (1607-1774)

Service Records

Few records about the soldiers of colonial wars were ever created. Those records that do survive are in the State Archives or in a local court’s records. Possibly one of the best ways to guess who may have served is to check county tax records for names of men who may have possibly served from a local militia group.

Much of what has survived has been published

Post Military Veterans Benefits

Few records exist

Most records that do exist are published

Lloyd D. Bockstruck published a book about Military Bounty Lands Granted by Individual States. (Available at the Dallas Public Library)

Part IV-Revolutionary War/Frontier Conflicts (1775-1811), War of 1812 and Mexican War

Compiled Service Records

Records for each of these wars is similar. The Revolutionary War is the best and most complete of all while the Indian Wars are the least complete.

Records of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War have long been neglected but Beging in 1993. A joint venture of the National Archives, National Park Service, National Genealogical Society and Federation of Genealogical Societies began collecting money for the microfilming and digitization of the pensions and service records of the War of 1812 and then the Mexican War. These records are well on their way to being completed and online at Fold3.

Indexed and microfilmed

May contain name, rank, military organization, date of musters, date of enlistment, captain, when last paid, sometimes physical description

Below is a muster roll listing the date, name, rank and remarks about each individual soldier. A single pre-printed card would be created listing every topic on this muster leaving a blank line to be completed by a transcriptionist. Once the cards were printed, the transcriptionist filled in the blanks for each item on the muster such as date, name, rank and remarks.

The cards would be alphabetized and placed in envelopes which were also alphabetized, then eventually microfilmed. After the invention of computers and scanners the microfilm was converted to digitized images and ends up as a database on Ancestry or Fold3, etc.

Revolutionary War Muster Roll North Carolina Troops

War 1812

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Category:War_of_1812

Indian Wars

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Category:Wars_Involving_the_United_States

Mexican War

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Category:United_States_in_Mexican_War,_1846_to_1848

Mexican War Bounty Lands

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/US_Mexican_War_Bounty_Land_Warrants

Pensions

S-Soldier; W-Widow; R-Rejected

These have been digitized and are online on Ancestry, Fold3 and Heritage Quest

Bounty Lands

There was a process for receiving Bounty Lands. The application, as did pensions began after the Government passed laws allowing for them. One applied at one’s local county courthouse going through much the same steps as one did to receive a pension. The applications for Bounty Land Warrants are interfiled with pension records and are microfilmed.

Application-Began on local county level

Warrant-Upon approval, The General Land Office issued a Warrant (an order) for the applicant to present to the surveyor in the military district where he anticipated placing his patented land.

Survey- the Surveyor would survey the land in his jurisdiction, make a plat of the land and certify the land had not been surveyed for any other applicant.

Patent-Issued by the General Land Office in the name of the President of the United States. The Patentee was the first person to “own” the patented land. A record of this patent was maintained both by the State and by the General Land Office. When the patentee sold or otherwise conveyed it to someone else that document would be considered a county document and filed at the local courthouse/

A Warrant did not have to be taken to a surveyor by the person applying for the land. The warrant could be given away, sold or patented

Bounty Land Warrants

Military Tract of 1812 in Illinois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Tract_of_1812#:~:text=Bounty%20lands,-The%20term%20bounty&text=Such%20bounty%20was%20also%20occasionally,possession%20of%20bounty%20lands%20ceased

Loyalists-Tory-Royalists

Comprised about 1/3 the American population. In some areas they were the majority.

Many went to Canada (Ontario and the Maritimes), West Indies, Britain.

Many belonged to Episcopal/Church of England

Some, or their families, returned to US after 1800 in the 1800-1825 era

Loyalists who left US usually well documented in their new residence due to their claims for losses in the US.

Germans

Augmented British Forces

About 7,000 of 32,000 troops remained in US after war

Originated mainly from:

Hessen-Kassel, Hessen Hanau, Braunschweig, Ansbach-Bayreuth, Waldeck and Anhalt-Zerbst

Censuses

The 1840 Census lists the name and ages of all pensioners living in a household. Sometimes the head of household is the pensioner, sometimes he/she is a family member or may just be a boarder. Nothing in the census indicates relationship between the head of house and the pensioner. By locating and reading the census a good genealogist may discover that relationship.

Census of 1840 Pensioners

http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/1840-census-of-pensioners.htm

Wars in General/More than one War

Cyndislist- http://www.cyndislist.com/military.htm https://cyndislist.com/military-worldwide/

https://www.cyndislist.com/us/american-revolution/records/

Olive Tree Military Records http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mil/index.shtml

Thought . Com Military History https://www.thoughtco.com/military-history-4133285

Illinois Online Soldier Database http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/home.html

Researching Texas Military History
http://www.thc.state.tx.us/public/upload/researching-military-history.pdf

Texas State Library and Archives http://www.tsl.texas.gov/

Texas General Land Office http://www.glo.texas.gov

Texas General Land Grant Search http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/land-grants/index.cfm